It’s hard to believe that it has been sixteen years since the release of the Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set, and yet it marked one of the most substantial home video releases from Warner Home Video at that time. To this day it is highly regarded by both Superman fans and home video collectors as one of the most comprehensive sets ever.

After the release of the Superman special edition DVD release in 2001, fans began to ask if there was more to the films. And the answer was an overwhelming yes. There were more scenes, more stories, more behind the scenes footage, than had been previously seen or even believed.

It would be another five and a half years before fans got the answers to the questions they had been asking… in the form of several all new Superman special edition DVD releases, all of which were released on November 28, 2006.

The original Superman was expanded to a generous four-disc set that included the 2001 special edition, the original 1978 theatrical release with two different sound mixes, an all new audio commentary with executive producer Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler, the original Making of Superman: The Movie documentary from 1980, the 1951 feature film Superman and the Mole Men, and nine of the Fleischer Studios’ animated Superman short films from 1941-42, in addition to nearly all of the legacy features from the 2001 DVD release. This allowed the film to breathe and be fully enjoyed across the DVD format.

This would be joined by a new two-disc special edition of Superman II. That release featured a new audio commentary with Salkind and Spengler, the TV special The Making of Superman II from 1983, the Superman 50th Anniversary special from 1988, the remaining eight Superman animated shorts from Famous Studious from 1942-43, the original feature First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series, and the deleted scene of Superman’s soufflé that was first seen in the extended TV cut from 1984.

There would also be a new deluxe edition of Superman III that was released. This would include a new audio commentary with Salkind and Spengler, the TV documentary The Making of Superman III, and a collection of scenes taken from the 1986 extended version. This would be joined by a new deluxe edition of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. On that disc was included an audio commentary from screenwriter Mark Rosenthal and, more importantly, nearly thirty minutes of footage from the original 134-minute cut of the film, presented in a workprint format. While the footage wasn’t in the best quality, it was better than nothing, though some scenes such as the complete Metro Club sequence were not included.

All four of these releases were issued both separately and in an eight-disc box set called the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection. But this was just the beginning.

Making its world premiere was Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut on DVD, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray. This brand new release showcased the original intentions that Donner and Tom Mankiewicz had for the film, and restoration producer Michael Thau had done the impossible task of putting Donner’s film back together again from nearly all of the footage that had been shot in 1977. This included the original opening of Lois Lane jumping out of the Daily Planet to trick Clark into turning into Superman; all of Marlon Brando’s footage that was shot in March and April 1977; and the film’s original ending, of Superman reversing all of the damage to the world, among others. Thau also utilized the screen tests for Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder for another crucial scene in the film, and in some places he used what Richard Lester footage was necessary to tell a coherent story. The final product was met with mixed reviews that still continue to this day.

The disc would also include a new introduction to the film by Richard Donner; a new audio commentary by Donner and Mankiewicz; the feature Superman II: Restoring the Vision, about the process of bringing the film to completion; and six deleted scenes, most of which were included in the 1984 extended TV cut.

All of these discs would be included in what is still considered one of the most spectacular DVD sets ever compiled: the Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition. This massive 14-disc set brought together all of the previously mentioned discs along with the 2006 DVD documentary Look! Up in the Sky – The Amazing Story of Superman, a new two-hour look at eight decades of Superman’s history from comics to animation, movie serials to television, and, of course, the feature films. Narrated by Kevin Spacey, it served as a precursor to the then-upcoming theatrical release Superman Returns.

Along with the other discs, the 14-disc set included the 2-disc release of Superman Returns, which featured a number of deleted scenes from the film; two theatrical trailers; the three-hour documentary Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns; and a brief feature called “Resurrecting Jor-El”, which looked at how CGI played a factor in adapting Marlon Brando’s footage from 1977 for the film. (The Circuit City release would include a bonus disc, “The Science of Superman”, which was not included on the 14-disc set but would be included in the 2011 Blu-ray anthology.)

One of the highlights of the 14-disc set was the brand new documentary You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman, a 90-minute look at the making of Christopher Reeve films that focused primarily on the first film while touching upon the sequels to lesser detail. But what makes this documentary great is the inclusion of rare outtakes and behind the scenes clips from the making of the first two films. And this is only a fraction of what is in the Warner Bros. vaults.

But that’s not all. There is “The Mythology of Superman”, which traces the history of Biblical, Greek, and Roman culture, along with the pulp novels and stories of the 1920s and 1930s, that influenced Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to create what would become the first and most iconic superhero. Then there is the touching video “The Heart of a Hero: A Tribute to Christopher Reeve”, in which family and friends pay tribute to the iconic actor who became an even more inspirational leader through his tireless efforts in raising funds and awareness for spinal cord paralysis which continues to this day long after his passing. There’s also a rare color print of The Adventures of Superpup, the 1958 pilot that was filmed on the Adventures of Superman sets with an all-dog cast. And there’s three vintage Superman-inspired cartoons from the Warner Bros. vaults: “Super-Rabbit” with Bugs Bunny; “Snafuperman”, part of the 1940’s “Private Snafu” series; and “Stupor-Duck” with Daffy Duck.

The final disc is a collection of Bryan Singer’s video journals that chronicle his work on Superman Returns. About half of them were included as a bonus disc in some releases of the Look! Up In the Sky documentary, but here we have all 29 of them. This should have been the third disc of the Superman Returns release, so it’s nice to see them included in this set in their entirety.

The Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition still stands to this day as one of Warner Home Video’s top legacy titles, and, as compilations grow and the home viewing medium continues to advance forward, it will be sought after by both Superman and film fans alike.

(Some of the images presented in this blog are courtesy of CapedWonder.com.)